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Open Ended (Poker)
Open ended is the term used to describe an open ended straight draw, meaning that there are cards on the high and low side of the draw which can make a player the straight. An example of this would be 5 6 7 8 where any 4 or 9 would make a player the straight.
An open ended straight is considered more valuable than an inside straight draw (aka gut shot, or belly buster) for the reason that there are more drawing cards. A gut shot, or inside straight draw would be a hand like 7 8 9 J where the missing link card is inside the run, in this case the 10. In this particular draw, only a 10 would make the straight, or four outs.
The open ended straight would have 8 outs to make a straight, the reason it is considerably more valuable. Whilst discussing value, it is worthwhile noting that the lower straight is a losing hand against the high straight. So, if some outs are greater than others, surely we wouldn't just use the number of outs to justify the call.
A player should take into account which end of the straight they are shooting for. If it is the low end, one would have to think carefully before committing a large portion of his stack chasing a hand that might not be good enough, should he hit it. The same goes for any drawing hand where you don't have the nut draw (see nuts). Of course it is a little more difficult to judge as you will not know (like a straight) how strong the hand is until showdown and players turn over their cards. With an open ended, you know that the best someone could have on a board like 7 8 9 J is a queen high straight (player holding 10-Q).
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